Wireless communication devices have become smaller and more powerful in order to meet consumer needs and to improve portability and convenience. Consumers have become dependent upon wireless communication devices such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, and the like. Consumers have come to expect reliable service, expanded areas of coverage, and increased functionality.
In current second generation (2G) and third generation (3G) network implementations, a cell's coverage area is mainly dependent on the antenna pattern and down tilt of the antennas. Once an antenna is installed and tilt angle is fixed, the coverage of the cell is substantially fixed. Cell breathing may not change the coverage area. Over time the network may become imbalanced. An imbalanced network may have some portions of the network that are very busy or have a heavy load, while other portions of the network may not be very busy or have a light load. For example, some cells may have overloaded traffic, such as downtown areas or other areas with a dense population. Other cells may have a very small traffic load, such as rural areas with a sparse population. The current solution for the overloaded area is to add more cells, introduce more carriers, etc.
However, the solutions to overloaded areas of adding more cells, introducing more carriers, etc., are expensive and may not make the most efficient use of the available resources. It would be beneficial if systems and methods were provided that improved the efficiency of wireless communication systems.